Polystyrene insulation company Expol has been fined $240,000 and ordered to pay reparations of $40,000 over an incident in which a worker was crushed by a 130 kilogram high-density polystyrene block he was moving at the company's site in Auckland.
WorkSafe New Zealand said the worker was moving two five-metre high 130kg polystyrene blocks onto a trolley when the trolley locking clamp prematurely released and one of the blocks fell on top of him in July 2016.
The worker sustained severe crushing injuries including two spinal fractures, fractured ribs and a fractured ankle. His injuries required three surgeries and it was six months before he could return to work.
WorkSafe said its investigation found multiple failings at the company's Onehunga site.
There was no effective risk assessment of the block moulding machine and lifting trolley, guarding issues with the block moulding machine, no safe system of work for the block moulding process, and they should have provided a plant that was safe for workers to use.
Expol was charged under the Health and Safety at Work Act with failing to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers, which carries a maximum fine of $1.5 million. The company was sentenced in the Auckland District Court last week.
WorkSafe's Head of Specialist Interventions Simon Humphries said the injury could have been avoided.
"Expecting workers to move large and heavy items without the right equipment or systems in place is not good health and safety management. Working with 130kg loads brings with it the risk of serious harm and those risks need to be managed," he said.
Following the incident Expol took the trolley out of commission, developed a new procedure for lifting blocks off the conveyer using a forklift, updated their standard operating procedure, upskilled their workers and installed safety barriers, WorkSafe said.
"Expol were quickly able to take their workplace from one with a number of health and safety failings to one with a safe system of work for their workers. It should not take an incident like this for employers to pick up their game." Mr Humphries said.
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